A self-driving Tesla comes with a hefty price tag, but a college student has given his Honda Civic similar abilities for a fraction of the cost.

Brevan Jorgenson has unveiled a device that replaces the rear-view mirror, which controls the brakes, accelerator and steering – and it only cost $700 to build.

The DIY device uses the hardware design and software shared online by Comma.ai last year, which had originally planned to upgrade cars with the technology.

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Brevan Jorgenson, a senior at the University of Nebraska, has unveiled a device that replaces the rear-view mirror that controls the brakes, accelerator and steering – and it only cost him $700 to build

HOW WAS IT MADE?

Brevan Jorgenson, a senior at the University of Nebraska, used the free online hardware designs and software that was shared by Comma.ai online.

The device, called Neo, was set to be sold on Amazon but was canceled when regulators questioned its safety.

Jorgenson followed the instructions and made his own device for $700.

The Neo device consists of an OnePlus 3 smartphone designed with Comma's Openpilot software, which is now free.

The software is a circuit board that links the device to the car's electronics and sits in a 3D printed case.

Once the technology was finished, Jorgenson took it for a test in late January - which he said was a success.

Many technology an automobile firms are already testing modified cars on the road – and have been for years, reports MIT Review.

But Jorgenson's 2016 Honda Civic is considered part of the 'grassroots test fleet' that MIT Review says is 'taking shape as tinkerers around the world strive to upgrade their own vehicles with computing gear that can share driving duties'.

'I wanted to make my car a level two self driving car for a couple of reasons,' Jorgenson, who is a senior at the University of Nebraska, told DailyMail.com.

'First, I have a girlfriend that lives in Denver and I make the drive between between Omaha and Denver enough that I thought I could put the Comma Neo to good use.'

'The second main reason I wanted to upgrade my car was because I am a strong believer that self driving cars are the future and I wanted to be a part of making that a reality.'

'I want to help elevate fears that many people have around a subject so polarizing as self driving cars, so I will frequently offer to let friends ride in or even test drive my car to see how well it works.

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Jorgenson started this project after hearing about George Hotz's idea, the founder of Comma.ai, who was set to release a $999 device that would upgrade vehicles to steer themselves on the highway and follow stop-and-go traffic.

Hotz, who resides in New Jersey, was the first person to hack Apple's iPhone and claimed he could create a self-driving car in just one month that would be far superior to the MobilEye system used in the Tesla Model S autonomous car, he revealed in December 2015.

Hotz had planned to sell the technology on Amazon, but less than a year later, he hit a roadblock.

In a letter and order in October 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) demanded that Comma.ai provide proof to regulators that its proposed device for self-driving cars would be safe, or risk having its sale blocked.

NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind has said he wants to encourage innovation in autonomous driving because cars that avoid human mistakes could prevent thousands of deaths each year.

The DIY device Jorgenson placed in his Honda Civic (pictured) was inspired by the San Francisco startup, Comma.ai, which that had plans to upgrade any vehicle with self-driving technology

Jorgenson started this project after hearing about George Hotz's idea, the founder of Comma.ai, who was set to release a $999 device

A month after receiving the warning, Comma.ia announced on its website that it had open sourced the software code and robotics research platform for the driver-assistance system the company had planned to start selling at the end of the year.

Jorgenson decided to order the parts needed to build Comma's device, which is called Neo, the same day Hotz released the plans online.

The Neo device consists of an OnePlus 3 smartphone designed with Comma's Openpilot software, which is now available for free.

The software is a circuit board that links the device to the car's electronics and sits in a 3D printed case.

Brevan Jorgenson told DailyMail.com that the technology is much safer than most people would believe. 'The car cannot steer below 18 mph, anytime you touch the gas or brake pedals the Neo disengages, he said. It also reminds drivers to be ready to take over the wheel

TESLA'S SELF-DRIVING TECHNOLOGY

All Tesla cars being produced, including the Model 3, are now being built with full autonomous capabilities.

Model S and Model X vehicles with the new hardware are 'already in production.'

Musk claimed the technology will soon enable 'full autonomy all the way from LA to New York,' saying this would be achieved 'without the need for a single touch.'

The system has eight cameras with 360 degree visibility around the car at up to 250 meters (820 feet) of range.

It also has 12 updated ultrasonic sensors to detect both hard and soft objects and a forward-facing radar that can see through 'heavy rain, fog, dust and even the car ahead.'

'I tried to solder the board myself and was not having a great time at it so I ordered it pre-soldered, which took about a month', said Jorgenson.

'I bought the phone that is 'the brains of the Neo' (a OnePlus 3) from Amazon with Prime and stopped up at Walmart to get a cheap unlimited data plan for it.

'I ordered the 3d printed housing for the Neo but in hindsight I wish I would have printed it with the 3d printer at work.

'And then there is a small order of screws and parts that takes about a week to get in the mail.

'Once you have all of the pieces you can build it in a day pretty easy.'

And he said the project took about an entire weekend to finish.

George Hotz's , the founder of Comma.ai, was set to release a $999 device, called Neo, which would upgrade vehicles to steer themselves on the highway and follow stop-and-go traffic. Jorgenson used the same hardware designs and software to build his device

'I spent a weekend doing it because I never flashed a new operating system to an Android before so that was a learning curve,' said Jorgenson.

'After all the parts are in and the phone is flashed all you do is plug in the phone to the board (this allows the phone to talk to the car) and then pop off the housing that is above the rear view mirror in the car and there is a cable there you just plug into the 2nd port on the board. It is really simple.'

Once the technology was finished, Jorgenson took it for a test in late January.

'The system is much more safe then anyone would probably initially give it credit for,' he said.

'I am not adding any permanent changes to my car so the Neo is basically stuck having to follow the rules Honda already built into the car.'

It took Jorgenson about a full weekend to put the device (pictured) together, which he said was a simple task to complete after receiving all of the parts

Once the technology was finished, Jorgenson took it for a test in late January - which he said was a success. Now that it is fully working, it is being compared to Tesla's Auto Pilot

'The car cannot steer below 18 mph, anytime you touch the gas or brake pedals the Neo disengages, it displays a message telling the driver to take over if it feels it cannot navigate the situation, there is an audible beep every time the Neo is engaged or disengaged, and there are more safety features I am sure I am not thinking of.

'Comma put safety first and you can tell.'

'The car accelerates like a grandma when it is in stop and go traffic.'

However, he found that Neo had a tendency to pull the vehicle to the right sometimes, but a software update from Comma resolved the issue.

Now that it is fully working, it is being compared to Tesla's Auto Pilot.